Will Brewers Make Abner Uribe Part of Their Devin Williams Replacement Plan—Or Give Him a Fresh Start Elsewhere?

[Matthew Trueblood]

One year ago, there was little controversy about who was second in line for saves in the Brewers bullpen. After a lost season, though, does the fireballer still have a path to that role?

Image courtesy of © Benny Sieu-Imagn Images

After a meteoric rise in 2023, Abner Uribe stalled out in ugly fashion in 2024. He has both a four-seam fastball and a sinker, and each can eclipse 100 miles per hour. He also has one of the filthiest sweepers in baseball, especially when you account for the way that breaking ball plays off all that velocity. All of that talent shined through in his rookie campaign in 2023, as Uribe overwhelmed big-league hitters and made them look like minor-leaguers at times. That made it all the more frustrating when, this spring, something was simply off.

Uribe's command was a mess from the jump, and he would not find it again all year. In 14 appearances with the Brewers, he walked 12 and uncorked three wild pitches. The inability to fill up the zone also cost him strikeouts, and although it was still hard to square him up, his ERA soared to 6.91. Then, after an immature dust-up with José Siri of the Rays in early May, Uribe was suspended by the league, demoted to Triple-A Nashville by the team, and injured while playing there, forcing him to undergo knee surgery. Seasons can't go much wronger.

The good news, of course, is that the injury was not to Uribe's arm, and that the team says he should be 100 percent ready to go upon arrival for spring training. This setback season also saved some bullets for him, in a way, and the Brewers' bullpen did fine without him. On the other hand, the Brewers' bullpen did fine without him. They might now feel that Uribe is expendable, in the right circumstances. To be sure, it's Trevor Megill, not Uribe, who stands first in line to take over the closer's gig after the team trades Williams. Several other players have a chance to zoom past Uribe on the organizational depth chart, too. Does that mean the team will trade Uribe before the hot stove burns itself out?

If they do, it won't be just to get rid of him. While everyone was disappointed in the way he handled his own failures early in 2024 and the decisions he made amid building tensions between the Crew and the visiting Rays on the day when he earned his suspension, the organization has not soured on his makeup entirely, and his talent is still very much evident. He's most likely to hang around, absent any additions or subtractions beyond dealing Williams.

After the Brewers took Connor Thomas in the Rule 5 Draft Wednesday, the squeeze in the bullpen got a bit tighter, because Thomas can only stay in the organization if he remains on the MLB roster all season. In general, though, the team's relief corps is remarkably flexible. Of their top 12 or 13 candidates for a place in the pen, only Joel Payamps and Nick Mears can't be optioned to the minors. Uribe, too, can be thus stashed away. Logistically, some of that flexibility evaporates as the season goes on, when injuries and the urgent progress of young players who aren't yet on the 40-man roster force the team to make unexpected changes. Right now, though, it's easy to see how Uribe could be kept without getting in the way of the team's efforts to build another superb pitching staff.

When Uribe is right, he's as good as any reliever in the Milwaukee organization. Because they've amassed so much depth, however, the Brewers don't have to roll the dice on him being his best self. They don't even need to keep him around at all; doing so would purely be a means of ensuring that their depth remains bountiful into the middle of the 2025 campaign. His stuff profile is tantalizing, but after he showed such volatility in 2024, it's a welcome luxury for the team that they can afford not to overlook either that extraordinary talent or his equally salient faults. What they decide to do with him can boil down to what options present themselves throughout the winter and spring, and that's a good position in which to be.

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[Brian]

I like Abner Uribe as long as he is healthy and preforming,  just because he has a fire in him you can't penalize him for that.  Tyrese Haliburton is always dusting it up with the Bucks and getting under there skin, I think a team needs that once in a while as long as he is not a problem in the clubhouse. I say keep him.

[jay87shot]

I think both Uribe and Yoho both need to be groomed to be the closer/setup men come 2026. The guys we have are solid but Uribe and Yoho can be the next Hader/Devin for a while if we can put the last couple pieces of their development together.

[eddiemathews]

Unless somebody is ready to blow the Brewers away with a deal for Abner, it would be extreme folly to give up on stuff like his. Time for the pitching lab to work some more magic.

[Outlander]

Looking forward to seeing what Uribe can do this year, his demotion means he is still under a year of service so have a full 6 years with him still. No need to give up on him. The suspension is annoying but think he can be a big part of the bullpen in 2025 so hope they get that out of the way early so it isn't an issue when determining who to call up.

[sveumrules]

Abner is a Wild Card in the truest sense of the word...as it pertains to his impact on the Brewers 2025 season, as it pertains to where any given pitch might end up, as it pertains to the mental side of the game, and even moreso than most pitchers as it pertains to staying healthy with only one season over 50 IP and a grand total of 141 IP over six seasons.

I agree the arm talent is too tantalizing to give up on at this point, but a lot of moving pieces are going to need to click together for it to ever be realized for a full 162 game season (plus hopefully some playoffs).

[biedergb]

Uribe's biggest issue last year was his emotions/maturity but meaning in the way that most recall - like his fight. His body language on the mound and how he let innings or batters get away from him.

The year before he was new, and surprised people and things were working well. Last year they weren't. The stats/metric people can remind me and others how the FB had changed both in velocity and movement, but he didn't seem to respond well, that led to a few disaster innings if I am remembering correctly.

If his FB remains electric and it can be elite, then he can be a mainstay as the RHP, or set up or possibly closer.

Agree that Megill is #1 to be closer, then Payamps, and then it is up to Yoho, Uribe and maybe even Miz.

[wallus]

I think Abner is immature and shows some signs of a guy on PEDs if I'm being honest.

I would put him on the OD roster just to get that suspension out of the way. I would also not be opposed to dealing him if we can help out the big league roster.

[Brian]

6 hours ago, wallus said:

I think Abner is immature and shows some signs of a guy on PEDs if I'm being honest.

I would put him on the OD roster just to get that suspension out of the way. I would also not be opposed to dealing him if we can help out the big league roster.

A guy 6'3 and 215 pounds on PED's I don't think so. 

[TURBO]

That article was a lot of words that told us nothing, nothing at all...